Ready to Tackle a Coat

Thank you for your lovely comments on my pillow covers. I'm still making them, as I have many more pillows in need of covers, but I miss making garments! So...

I love coats, but to sew one requires a significant commitment of time, energy and patience. Perhaps it is the change in the weather (or perhaps it is because I finally found a fabric that will work for this pattern!) -- but I'm finally feeling up to the task of tackling a coat project.

I've had my eye on this pattern for more than a year now. It is from Burda's September 2010 issue (I love that issue):

I finally have the fabric -- a great wool flannel coating in a dark charcoal gray that doesn't photograph very well. And I just received my first order of interfacing -- including the new sew-in hair canvas -- from Fashion Sewing Supply. I've been reading Pam's blog for quite a while, but it was SunnyGal who mentioned to me (and was so generous to give me samples!!) that the interfacing was fantastic -- so I had to give it a try.

I'm looking forward to giving this one a go!

Home Dec Diversion - Pillows

Home decor is definitely not a strength of mine. I don't really get overly excited about making pillows, throws, runners, tablecloths, etc. Just not my thing. But, sometimes you need them, and when you're too thrifty to spend for something that could be made quite easily...

So far, I made two pairs of pillow covers. One pair was knit using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick, a super chunky yarn that requires size 13 needles. One is just a plain garter stitch and the other is a 2x2 basketweave-type of stitch. Both have zipper closures and are machine-washable.

The other pair is a patchwork-type of design using scraps of kasuri fabrics, which are Japanese ikat-woven fabrics. I have a large stash that I received from my grandmother. I made a quilt with some of them, and now the scraps have turned into pillow covers.  The red stripes are scraps of bias silk charmeuse that I stitched on after the kasuri pieces were sewn together. I think my grandmother would approve!

Curved Seam Dress Finished -- An Expensive Muslin

It's amazing how when you identify something as needing to be "last-minute", it takes the longest time to complete. I didn't finish the Curved Seam Dress in time for the event -- just ended up wearing a plain old black outfit -- but I'm glad I finally finished it. The pattern is from the September 2010 issue of Burda.

Why am I calling it "an expensive muslin"? Because the fabric was expensive -- the silk dupioni was pricey (they've really increased prices at Thai Silks) -- and because this was the messiest bit of sewing/fitting I've done in a long time. I'm usually very careful about finishing seams, clipping threads as I go along, etc. But for this project, I ended up having to do a lot of fit adjustments along the way, and with the time constraints, I just kept moving forward. The sloppiness of the construction (and the need for further fit refinements) makes this a muslin in my mind. I like this dress and want to make it again -- but will be more careful with the construction process.

Some thoughts on this dress:

1. The pattern was drafted for knits but I made it in a woven. To do this, I didn't need as much ease as I thought I would. I just needed some room in the bodice (between bust point and waist). The tricky part was figuring out where to put the zipper. The original pattern doesn't have a closure. I decided to put it along the vertical seam in the side/back and run it up on the diagonal to the underarm. This worked well. I drew a line from the underarm to the waist/seam intersection, cut and added the appropriate seam allowances and grainlines.

2. The hem is tapered and tight for a woven fabric, so there needs to be some sort of vent to allow walking ease. I ended up just putting in a simple vent along one side. For a sexier look, you could leave slits on both sides.

3. Achieving the right fit is critical for this style. Given all of the seams, it is best to really get the initial muslin right and then move on to fashion fabric. I employed the "quick and dirty" technique, which ended up requiring a ton of fitting adjustments in fashion fabric -- not pretty when you're working with fray-happy fabric like silk dupioni! 

4. The silk dupioni required underlining, so I hand-basted each piece with silk organza. 

5. The dress actually looked great without the sleeve extensions, but I wanted to see how it looked with them. At first, I left the bottoms free to see how they would look -- I was told I looked like I walked out of a Star Trek episode -- so I tacked them down (per Burda instructions). They are ok, but I may take them off next time.

This is a good dress pattern. When you take the time to refine the fit, I think it is very flattering and definitely works in a woven fabric.